Journey
by Sauri
Summary: [Gruvia][Two-shot] The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. With Gray it began with a glance, continued with chaos and ended... well, it didn't end.
1. Part I

**N/A:** Hello! This fic is the first one I've written in english, so I really, really want to be told any grammatical error. I made this to improve my use of the language and what better way than to be criticized? Don't be afraid to point out any error! Keep it polite, though, I don't want any flames. It's my first Gruvia and FT fic too, so the characters might be a bit off. Duh.

Whatever, enjoy reading!

**Summary: **The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. With Gray it began with a glance, continued with chaos and ended... well, it didn't end.

**Warnings: **Possible OoCness, mild swearing and fluffiness. Lots of Gruvia fluffiness. Hints of Gale/Gajevy too, 'coz second fav.

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail and its characters are not mine. They belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Journey**

_"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."  
_Lao- Tsé

**1. Glancing**

The first time he started to pay attention to her, actually paying attention, was in late summer.

Even if autumn had begun to creep in the weather, the air was still unbelievably hot and the sun shinned brightly up in the sky every day. Fairy Tail, though, was just as ever: happily making a ruckus out of everything and anything.

It would be on one of those warm days where everything began.

After coming back from a solo mission that took almost a week to complete, Gray sat through all the mess with a mug of beer between his hands in the guild's hall, not feeling like joining the merry party full of violence for once. In fact, he preferred to watch the spectacle that the Fire Dragon Slayer was putting up. This meaning that the pink haired boy was being beaten up by a very powerful, very angry and very strawberry cake starving Titania.

Gray chuckled silently. It felt good not to be in the receiving end of Erza's anger.

So he stayed there enjoying the taste of his drink. He would speak with whoever came to sit next to him in order to pass the afternoon, once in a while stripping down to his boxers and getting dressed as fast when he noticed the lack of clothes. Other times he would send a snarky comment to Natsu, who would reply back with a threat. He dismissed those ones as nothingness.

Sometimes, and only _sometimes_, he would send a glance at his right too; towards the direction where a water mage was engaged in a conversation with Cana. Well, in all fairness it looked more like Juvia was doing the talking and Cana the drinking.

It was weird, he mused as he took the last sip from his beer and throwing a discrete glance to the girls, that Juvia Lockser was still pining after him. After he rejected her back at the games and all that, he meant.

But Juvia was a bit crazy, so it wasn't that strange in her case. Perhaps.

Nevertheless, it didn't make him less uncomfortable.

It had been complicate enough when she wanted a romantic relationship with him when he didn't feel the same, now that she did know how he felt, and even then she wouldn't back off, was downright awkward. In his opinion at least, Juvia didn't appear bothered at all.

However, and there laid his main problem, he did not feel awkward _with _her. Not much, anyways.

It seemed more like that the freaking problem was rooted in the hopes Juvia held and all its implications. Or in other people's expectations, like Mira or Erza or Cana, or, and he couldn't be sure about this one but he swore that he had seen a warning glare from him, Gajeel.

What the hell they wanted, Gray didn't know. Yet, he knew that they shouldn't poke their noses where it wasn't required.

He sighed, asking for another pitcher.

Somewhere at his left side tables and chairs were blown up. By Natsu, he bet. Lucy's screech of indignation, or surprise, confirmed his guess. Meanwhile, his stripping habit kicked in and his shirt went to the floor. Again.

Another glance to his right.

Now both girls were giggling at some story the drunker one seemed to be telling. Gray frowned.

It wouldn't matter how much he pushed her away, would it? She would come back as many times as necessary, always, _always_, glowing, doing silly things to catch his attention and just being her crazy, incredible self. And he wouldn't be able to keep up with her, even humoring her without thinking.

Because—

And as if in a cue, she turned around until her gaze was on him.

Shit.

He cringed inwardly, expecting the inevitable embarrassing answer to his attention towards her which, he expected, was going to be about a high pitched "Gray-sama!", a ribs-broking hug —tackle— and eyes replaced with hearts.

He was wrong, though.

Against all his thoughts, Juvia just smiled _in that way (_half closed eyes with the tiniest of wrinkles around them, rosy cheeks and everything just beaming at him) and he could feel himself, shame upon shame, blushing slightly at the sight. As it had happened many times before to his great uneasiness. Gray stirred in his seat.

Not wishing for a second more of clumsy embarrassment the stripper shifted his sight to the drink at hand, not giving a second look to the water mage, with the smallest pinkish trace on his face.

Because there was _something_ he couldn't quite pinpoint in her smile, or in his blush, or in anything between, and he wondered if he was just imagining things and becoming the crazy one now.

* * *

**2. Knowing**

Gray didn't want to talk about his... _friendship_ with Juvia to anyone. He only allowed himself to think about it in the safety of his mind, where privacy was utmost, and even there he tried to avoid it as much as possible. It was too complicated of a topic, too personal. And so very embarrassing that every time the subject popped up in the back of his mind he would squirm.

But that didn't make him to spend less time in the company of Juvia. Which was a lot of time. Actually, in some short of way that the Ice-Make mage couldn't bring himself to completely understand, he was around her much more than usual. Or she was around him more than usual. The later was the likely option.

Not that he minded. Most of the time.

At first, it was mildly irksome that she would try to get closer to him with random conversations or offering handmade sweets —well, those weren't that troubling, they were quite tasty in fact.

In any case, he wasn't completely sure how to respond to her attention. She seemed as confident and as affectionate as she was even before his rejection. He, on the other hand, felt wary of her. As if the water mage was a bomb about to explode.

He did reject her feelings after all.

It was meant to be awkward.

Surprisingly, it wasn't.

Then, he loosened a bit.

The first few days he started to answer the questions Juvia threw, allowing her to do the rest of the chatting and he would listen half-heartedly. In a couple of weeks, he discovered himself adding some thoughts to her constant musings, taking an active part in their chats.

When autumn came around and the trees were dyed with warm colors, both of them took part in the conversations equally, talking about anything they believed fitting.

They spoke about missions, how some of them were so disgusting to work on but necessary because of their high rewards and some other were so enjoyable because of the people they met in the way. They spoke about how they spent their free time, hobbies and such. He discovered that she liked sewing and tried to improve her cooking. They spoke about old anecdotes that would bring laughter. He liked to tell about the adventures he had lived with their guild mates while she liked to tell about how she had made a friend out of Gajeel.

They spoke about the past once or twice, too.

Tentatively, he would tell her about the time he spent with Lyon and Ur and what he remembered about his parents, and she would tell him about the times she was left alone because of the constant rain and the no so very friendly atmosphere within Phantom Lord.

Those occurrences were rare, though. Neither Gray nor Juvia liked to talk about that, so they kept it at minimum.

Furthermore, he found out that Juvia listened very attentively. She hung onto every word he formed with rapt attention, not distracting even once. He could trust that she would never brush off whatever he said.

It made him comfortable and cautious altogether.

But there were downhills as well.

At times, when they discussed about the future or dreams, her cheeks would become a certain reddish color and she would make a comment in such a way that rang more than the occasional outburst she had. He didn't know how to handle that.

The emotional outburst? He could manage it with an acquired proficiency. It was as easy as to tell her to calm down with a stern voice, that she was making an embarrassing scene in public, and she, sometimes, would regain her composure continuing with the subject at hand.

The shy display of tenderness? _Those, _he wasn't prepared for.

Which ended with him sifting and blushing, while she was sifting and blushing too. What was he supposed to say or do against that? In the end, he decided, the best response to that was just to forget it and change the discussion in a different direction. Far away from the original topic. From the shifting and the blushing.

The praying eyes set on them when they were chatting didn't help with the discomfort.

Their friends didn't try to be subtle either; it was easy to catch knowing smirks directed to the two mages, mostly him, all around the hall. It made him frown in annoyance and disconcert. They shouldn't mock where they weren't called.

Luckily, no one brought the... closeness the water mage and ice mage were sharing up. Not like there was anything to gossip about. _Friendly_ activities were nothing unusual.

It was just that Gray thought that it was no one's damn business the relationship Juvia and he shared, as dysfunctional as it could get.

Unluckily, Lyon didn't agree with him.

-x-

Each passing day the sky turned more like Gray's namesake, temperature dropping slightly and winter coming slowly, taking over autumn. It would be one of these days where the two seasons clashed when Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail worked together. When some unknown dark mages unwisely chose to go against the two guilds.

In response, their respective masters picked a member each one, handing them the mission to settle things downs. The two Ice-Make mages were the selected ones for the mission.

It ended up being a fairly easy mission. Their opponents, even if capable and numerous, weren't as strong as them; in less than an hour everything was said and done. Hence the reason that the two of them were walking aimlessly around the little town. The train to go back wouldn't be until an hour or so.

They exchanged polite talk, made snide comments about each other and did anything that helped to pass the time. At some point Gray lost his jacket.

The tiny shop they sighted in the distance was painted in purples, blues and whites, cramped to the ceiling with objects of all kind and smelling like spring and rainy days and something the younger of the two identified as cinnamon. It reminded him of Juvia somehow. Maybe that was the motivation for Lyon to head there.

Lyon decided to enter. Gray followed suit.

"What" the black haired man started, looking around in boredom, "are we doing here?"

There was a courteous nod to the woman behind the desk before the other one answered.

"Next week is Juvia's birthday," his companion said as matter of fact.

Gray raised an eyebrow. "Yes. And...?"

"To buy her a present, you dimwit."

"You don't need to be an asshole to say so."

There was a familiar silence for a few second while both boys rummaged through the shop's items.

"You should too, you know."

"What?"

"Buy her a present."

Gray scoffed.

Of course he was going to. She was a close friend after all. Besides, he didn't want to face the wrath of some girls (namely Erza, Cana and some others) if he ever appeared with bared hands and, God forbid, made Juvia cry. That would end up as the last day of his life and he wasn't prepared to die yet.

But he was not purchasing it at the moment, where Lyon was watching him.

"She gave you a present in your birthday. It would be the courteous thing to do the same," the Lamia Scale member stressed.

A knitted scarf. With white little snowflakes printed all over it. That was his present from her. It was a dark-blue shade of color and obviously handmade, if the occasional mismatched stitch was anything to go by. He only could imagine how much time was spent in the scarf.

Although he didn't need any kind of clothes to get warm, Gray kept it in a drawer at his home.

Anyways, the ongoing conversation was starting to irritate him. If he did or did not get a present for the water mage was not the older one's goddam concern. Nor anyone's. It would be better if they just got over and done with it.

"Mind your own business."

The silence afterwards was tense. The black haired man sneered before turning his attention to a row of multicolored fabrics. Maybe he could get one of those at Magnolia. Juvia said a week ago something about wanting to try out som—

"I don't understand you."

That was blunt. And randomly _strange_. Gray stopped looking around the objects in display to focus in the white haired man. Slowly, frowning, he asked.

"What do you mean?"

Lyon gave him a look of disbelieve, like something hit him in the face too suddenly to notice. He recovered quickly from his daze and after tsking once, he started to speak with a dragging, impatient pitch and scowl adorning his face.

"Juvia is always chasing you. Showing you what everyone has seen since long ago..."

No. No, no, no. Gray panicked. He knew where that was heading to. The talk with Erza back in the games started the same fucking way! And Gray didn't want to hear the same reprimand again. Never.

"Shut up."

"...and yet, you play the _fool_. Not caring about her feelings at all, sometimes playing along and other times denying everything! Like now!"

"Shut. Up."

"Hell, she said it herself back in the games. You should know by now that that girl is—!"

"I said. Shut. Up."

It had to be the harsh, definite way he said it, because it did the trick. Or maybe it was the little, almost imperceptible, anxiety in his voice.

The point was that Lyon did stop this time, closing his mouth in a fine line, while Gray ragged his hand through his hair.

He already knew without Erza or Lyon saying it so. It was a damn obvious thing not to notice when she looked at him with the big, expressive eyes she had full of admiration, when she said his name with an undercurrent of happiness or when she wanted to be with him day in and day out. When she practically _screamed_ her feelings to the world. He knew all of it. It was impossible to dismiss everything and not perceive the transparent, clear fact.

But it didn't make any easier to _admit_ that Juvia Lockser was irrevocably _in love_ with Gray Fullbuster.

He knew that his little acts of aloofness weren't the best approach too. Always brushing off her sentiments wouldn't make a difference but for the worse. Time to time humoring her, giving her hopes, wouldn't as well. Even knowing that, knowing all that, he did nothing to fix all the mess. If he just said to her "no" in such a way that would hit home...

However, he _could not. _Not anymore. Because— because there was _something—_

"What are you going to do then?" Lyon drawled, fixated on him with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

He wished he knew that.

* * *

**3. Confronting**

Juvia was becoming bolder, he noticed.

Of course, she had always been.

She had never been the private type when it came to show emotions. You always could tell what was she thinking just by looking at her face or know what she wanted in the moment. The water mage was a woman who wore her heart on her sleeves.

When she first had joined Fairy Tail was when her audacity was at its peak. An audacity that almost bordered with obsession. The constant stalkerish tendencies; the spontaneous, unwanted touches; the jealousy toward other girls that was almost aggressive... Yeah, Gray admitted that, even if she was a guild mate and a friend, it used to freak the hell out of him.

Months had passed since she became a full member of their guild. The once burst of flames transformed into a dimmer but steadier fire after spending time around him and her new friends. It relaxed him when she changed to a less overwhelming degree of attraction, although she still had some worrying habits. At first, till it drowned to him what it _really _meant. It was then that he panicked and his mind went in the 'I-don't-know-what-the-fuck-I'm-doing' mode, leaving him alone with all the crap going on which would lead to a such a confused state that...

Whatever.

The message between lines was that, recently, Juvia acted more like she was in the past. More abundant in her commentaries, more evident at showing her emotions, more prone to touch him. A significant difference could be found when compared to the past, though.

She was more... more...

More subtle.

Yes, that was the word.

So subtle in fact that it had taken him a whole two weeks since the argument with Lyon to see the changes. He also _may_ have overlooked Juvia's advances conveniently, wishing not to look at the growing friendship-relationship-thingy between the two of them more than he already did.

When Gray had returned from the mission accomplished alongside Lamia Scale he acted a little bit cranky the first few days. The discussion with Ur's other student had brought up issues tied with the infamous water mage that he desired had stayed in the back of his mind.

He was _so_ confused, and the additional weight of not knowing what to do didn't help at all.

Anyhow, he didn't let it to drive his life. He behaved as always, went in mission with his team and tried to act nonchalantly.

Nevertheless, when Natsu was destroying something and Lucy calming him, when Erza disappeared to somewhere and Happy tried to gain a date from Carla, he would sit alone in a table and mull over the ordeal. Juvia would be there too, as was the common nowadays, light conversation between the two.

On one of those days Juvia bumped her shoulder with his while offering some cookies that smelled heavenly. She didn't retreat when ended doing her culinary deed of the day and their shoulder remained rubbing the rest of the afternoon. Which was somewhat strange as Juvia didn't come physically so close since some months now.

It would turn out to be the first incident of many.

The action repeated itself several times since, occasionally with a comment that made him blush fiercely. The water mage had started to sit next to him way closer than she used to, to touch him in the most feathery ways. Sometimes he even thought that his imagination was making everything up.

But the moments began to be excessively _constants_ to be just accidents. So he watched closely, measuring her every movement.

His doubts where cleared in the middle of winter, when they, plus Natsu and Lucy, were sitting in their now daily table of the guild. Both boys were throwing jeers at each other while the girls seemed to be chatting about boring girlish things.

Then, he felt it.

Juvia made her fingertips touch his slightly. Too casually to be unnatural, but too consciously to be unintentional.

His whole body steeled. Glancing towards the girl he discovered she seemed totally ignorant. But theirs hand were there, on the table, an inch apart of each other and the tiniest contact between, which was _not_ by chance. He was sure.

"Something happens, Ice Princess?" Natsu spoke through his ponders.

Gray blinked owlishly for a moment before gathering his thoughts again. He stirred, not knowing if to withdraw his hand or not.

"Nothing," Gray answered with a restrained voice. "Nothing."

From that point on his mind multitasked between keeping up with Natsu and retreating his hand from the table inconspicuously. The stripper eyed the blue haired girl cautiously from his peripheral vision, remarking how the only reaction she showed was the brief glance she threw to him.

-x-

He was going to go_ mad_.

The light brushes continued incessantly even though he started to not to reciprocate them willingly. He knew that she knew that he considered her attempts to physical approach irritating at least. Even so, Juvia kept on with her little innuendos, shrugging off any evidence from him that indicated she should come to a halt.

In short, she just wouldn't quit.

Which drove him crazy since any normal person would have stopped long ago this unbelievable act. Hell, anyone would have given up loving him long, long ago. Yet, Juvia was far from normality. She continued with her crush on him intact, with her abnormal tries to gain his affection and with her tender smiles.

His mind couldn't bring itself to wrap that notion once for all, like there was some kind of barrier on the way impeding him to come around it. But it was crystal clear and _there_. Juvia would continue loving and loving and _loving_...

Maybe, Gray wondered, the reason behind all that denial was just old plain fear. Fear to face whatever consequence it could mean if he admitted everything, fear to acknowledge what her smiles implied. It was impossible, though, because it seemed such a pathetic thing not to meet the truth eye to eye thanks to some foolish fear. He couldn't be like that. He wasn't. He hoped.

However, what worried him more was the fact that a_ tiny_ part of him felt glad that she didn't surrender.

The same tiny part that reminded him of Juvia's love in a daily basis, that got him blushing or stuttering when she made one of her fond acts, that even when a thought of confronting her love-sickness for good occurred it would come in a full blown to destroy the idea. The same tiny part that liked some of her smooth touches and needed a reminder to get him working when she smiled. He despised that bit of himself.

Because it was the same piece of his mind holding _that something_ he was unable to identify.

It frustrated Gray endlessly, as if he had some kind of split personality problem that wouldn't come to a truce with his thoughts about Juvia.

He sighed. She messed him up in such a ways when he prided in keeping his head cool _—_no pun intended_. _Stupidly powerful enemies, the direst situations or events that went beyond reality. Bring them all on; he would face those with the calmness he was known for. Mix a water mage and her feelings and his common sense was gone for good.

Unsurprisingly, he met his boiling point soon enough.

It would be one month before spring when everything concluded in an explosion.

"Can you stop it?!" The Ice-Make mage hissed more than said.

Some of the guild members scrambled in tables around them peered briefly before focusing in their previous matters after one of Gray's unfriendly scold. Ur's student made sure that no one was peeking at them when he concentrated at the problem in front of him. He preferred to keep everything private.

She seemed taken aback. Her eyes were wide, mouth slightly ajar from his outburst, questioning at him wordlessly. All in all, she looked like the personification of innocence. He frowned knowing that she was everything but that. The proof resided in their touching arms.

"Stop what?" The blue haired girl asked naively, titling her head. His eyebrow twisted. Trying to keep a straight face, Gray clenched his hands.

"This", he said pointing at their arms. "Your little acts, your craziness over me. All of it. Stop it!"

He winced slightly, the last part came out harsher than intended. However, he kept staring at her intently, wishing that the point would drown. That all his doubts would disappear and the entire storm in him would calm down.

Juvia blinked slowly, her astonished expression becoming one of neutrality. Her big eyes locked with his and her mouth, which had transformed into a thin line after his word, opened to say that she wouldn't bother him anymore...

"No."

The black haired mage froze on the spot. Juvia said no. To _him. _The end was near. The end of his sanity, that is. He gripped the corner of the table to steady his body from jerking violently while his mind rushed finding all the possibilities on how to understand the negation, attempting hopelessly not to panic. Because it couldn't be that simple. It just couldn't, okay?

The almost inappreciable snickers made him snap. Turning his head at alarming speed, the mage glowered at the people close enough to overhear their conversation who, to his greater annoyance, weren't even trying to hide their amusement. Growling, he wanted to show them how ice could actually_ burn _when the thought was thrown out of the window as the girl sitting next to him placed her hand over his.

A compressive little smile played in her lips before talking. "If Gray-sama wants Juvia to cease her, uhm, advances, she will," the water mage retreated the hand to her lap. Gray was unable to relax, though; there was more to come. He guessed correctly.

"Juvia only wishes Gray-sama's happiness," she said with the tiniest and sincerest voice. "But, even if he desires to, Juvia'll never stop loving Gray-sama."

His breath hitched in his throat for a second because of _something _impossible to describe.

_There. _A game changer. She had confessed before, thousands of times in fact, although never that way. She had blushed a deep red and shifted under his gaze, acting all shy, saying the word in a soft whisper. It seemed enough of a difference from the shameless acts from the past to get him in overload.

What was he supposed to do now? How would he answer to the declaration? He already rejected her once, he should be able to do it again! But no, that stupid side of him screamed in his head not to— wait, why the fuck was she looking at him with the expression of a kicked puppy?

So his mouth worked with the only unalterable fact that his mind could muster at the moment.

"Mavis, you're such a weird woman."

And she _was_. Back in the games her confession had resembled more one of a fangirl, and now she blurted all that in that tone with that face and he was, once again, lost. Finally when he had a chance to settle things down, she did the most heartfelt action and drove him into the opposite direction where he intended to go. Incapacitating him from denying her anything, from ending the chaos in him.

A _really_ weird woman indeed.

The Ice-Make mage rubbed his temple in an effort to gather his disorganized thoughts. Well, if he couldn't go against her or her maddening feelings, he would go along with them. Gray took a long breath, resigned to his unavoidable destiny and what he knew would come because of the words he was going to say.

He counted until three, closing his eyes tightly. The stripper was going to regret it _so_ much. Still, he spoke: "Do whatever you want."

Juvia blinked, once, twice, before squealing with the widest smile in her face and launched herself at him, leaving the male mage breathless from the impulse.

"Juvia, get off, dammit!"

* * *

**4. Accepting**

He found out that he didn't regret it the slightest.

Gray would come to that conclusion much later, when the last week of the cold season arrived.

Yes, the water woman took every ounce of opportunity to cling onto him. But in the past she had done that as well, even more blatantly than nowadays. Besides, Juvia tried not to be so public with her affections. More or less. There would be instants that she would lose all the composure and do something crazy; although, overall, the subtlety acquired through previous months was paying off.

It was just that now she had permission to do all these things.

_His _permission. Short of.

Apparently, it changed everything.

The atmosphere when they were together felt different. The persistent awkwardness that followed them anywhere still hung in the air, as did the embarrassment for him. But there were little shifts between the two mages that made the difference. Maybe it was because Juvia didn't try as hard to be with him, letting it be more _natural,_ or because he gave up fighting against her closeness and just flow with it. Or a mix of both.

Whatever the case, he started to relax around her. Once upon a time their interactions could be labeled as somewhat strained, where she would do the wildest actions and he would brush off her advances, everything seeming to be stagnant at some random point impossible to define. Then, time passed, their friendship evolving around it, and now...

Gray was liking her company more and more.

Sure, he had enjoyed her presence before, she was amusing to have around when she had kept her fangirl tendencies for herself; however, lately, shit got serious. Serious as if he had started to seek her whenever he felt bored or not in the mood to hang out with the pinkish dragon slayer or the others, when it had always been the other way around, Juvia searching him in their free time.

And he didn't fucking know why that happened.

Scratch that, he did know the reason _—_spending time with her was refreshing. The problem laid in what significance it held. It wasn't as being with Natsu or Lucy or Erza or any other guild member, probably because no other guild member was in love with him and the feelings of Juvia processed to him were so obvious that it was almost painful. Nonetheless, just a few months ago the situation was obvious as well, and back _then _he hadn't acted like a paranoid. Certainly, he hadn't looked for Juvia's company as much as he was doing nowadays.

So there was only one option left as the actual answer: the change went beyond the interaction between them. It nestled in her, in him and this friendship-relationship-thingy that Gray was _still_ incapable to comprehend. It shook the very core of what it had been and transformed everything in such a gradual way that before he even knew, he was facing it. And the worst of all was that the Ice-Make mage didn't feel the least uncomfortable with the alteration, more like a part of him _—_the part of him that liked to annoy him with anything related to the water mage_— _expected all of it.

The lack of uncomfortably that _should _have been there, plus the fact that he, somehow, actually predicted the occurrence, scared Gray to a point that almost transformed into panic.

Gray wished he could escape the mess he fell into with the recent developments, forget about what it brought and meant. He wished not to speak with the blue haired girl for a while until he organized his composure that had been scattered all over his mind for a long period now. He surely didn't want to face what he _knew_ was brewing between the two of them and, most importantly, in him. It would mean accepting _things; _very important, very troublesome _things_ that should not be there.

But the same side of his mind that bothered him countless times held him back when those ideas appeared. It didn't matter how much he wanted to go back in time and just have the uncomplicated way of life he once had, the stripper would go to Juvia every time he could regardless of his contradicting thoughts. Because, if he was completely honest with himself, he kinda liked the new path that their friendship had gotten into. Even with the emotional torment it brought.

It felt _right _to be with her that way.

Stupidly right.

As it was happening at the moment.

"That's pretty amazing" he said slightly amused, drinking from his beer.

The girl was about expressions and gesticulations when telling stories. She waved her hands constantly and the blue hair bounced on her shoulders from her non-stop movements while she told him about her recent mission with Lissana. Something about thugs, hideouts and kick-ass action. The spectacle turned out to be rather fascinating for Gray as she excitedly smile for the nth time. And, dammit, he could admit that it was a quite cute sight to behold.

Anyway, the ice mage threw the comment offhandedly when she mentioned a brawl with one of the thugs, trying unsuccessfully to distract himself, or stop her, from her little hopping in the chair. It made _other _parts of Juvia to bounce too, and it became hard to avert his eyes from there. The tactic worked, thank God, freezing her on the spot for a moment until her eyes shinned with something he had come to recognize easily.

"Gray-sama praised Juvia_—_!" She squealed, placing her hands on each side of her excited face.

Gray heaved a sigh, letting his crazy companion to her incoherent mumblings about whatever fantasy she came up with. Even if Juvia had knocked down her enthusiastic ways some levels, she would have a slip every once in a while. Not that he minded much anymore, he took them as a perpetual habit. Like his stripping; something annoying, but you could learn to live with it.

The male mage raised an eyebrow when the woman stopped babbling for a second. "You done?"

Her daydreaming gaze focused for a second on him. "Ah?" she seemed lost at first, when a moment later it came to her what reality and was she answered. "Juvia's sorry! She didn't mean t_—_"

"S'okay" the Ice-Make mage assured her. It kind of was okay after all. "So, what were you saying about the boss?"

"Ah, yes. Juvia was going to fa_—_"

"Water woman!" Someone interrupted her again. "I need you now!"

Gajeel was approaching them with a grumpy face and the looks of a person that would behead anyone daring enough to cross his way. And he was... blushing...? What? Gajeel blushing? Gray squinted trying to discern if his mind was playing tricks with the light.

Nope. It was a natural red what was in his cheeks.

Well, that should be amusing.

The stripper was ready to make a snide joke about his colored state to the Iron Dragon Slayer _—_because he so rudely interrupted a nice chat, the bastard_—_ when the other rambunctious male dragon slayer decided to butt in and take his fun away, throwing a burning chair to the intimidating blushing man's head instead of to whoever he was fighting with. The idiot. Then, a massacre of epic proportions started. In Fairy Tail's terms it translated to another common fight between guild mates.

All in all, Gray calculated that Juvia and him would have a plus of ten minutes in their conversation. So he let the jackasses to their wrestling in the background and decided to roll with the situation, resuming the topic about the ex-Phantom Lord's member condition of red.

"What was that about?" He asked, snapping Juvia out of her tender smile directed to the guys who were punching each other senseless.

"Nothing" her voice was an octave higher than usual."Gajeel asked Juvia for help with some matters." And she was playing with the hem of her dress.

Obviously, she was hiding something. Gray pressed.

"Nothing?"

"It's just... something personal."

"Personal." That sounded like something embarrassing. Now he really wanted to know. "How personal?"

"Juvia shouldn't tell."

"C'mon." He only needed to push the water mage a bit more. He gave her his most charming smile. "I won't tell a soul."

And done. Juvia flushed slightly, shifted in her seat for a moment of doubt and proceed to speak between whispers. He smirked triumphantly while learning toward her to hear better.

She told him the 'personal thing'. He thought he caught it wrong at first. He asked her to repeat it. She did. He hadn't heard wrong.

The mage started to laugh his ass off.

"Gray-sama, it isn't funny," she said lowering her eyebrows and pouting. He would have thought it a little endearing if not because of the laughter that had begun to hurt his sides.

"It is!" The ice mage almost screamed. "Big, scary Gajeel asks his love obsessed best-friend tips on how to woo little Levy because he doesn't know how to." He took a deep breath to calm down and added before he initiated another round of snickers. "Hilarious."

"Gray-sama shouldn't be rude to Gajeel" her scold didn't have much of an effect if she said that while biting her lower-lip to avoid smiling. "And your clothes..."

Seeing that she was trailing off in her commentary, he looked down to see his clothes had disappeared. "Aw, shit."

After a minute or so trying to find the darn pieces of clothing Gray put them back on, sighing in defeat. A chair crashed against the wall behind them. Watching the Iron Slayer attempting to put an end to the Fire Dragon Salyer's life, one wouldn't imagine that the former was planning on full-out courting, or whatever the guy thought to do, the book lover. He chuckled at the image that formed in his mind.

The water mage, on the other hand, was still pouting with a very restrained smile creeping in her lips. She mumbled with her head down, her daily tea between hands.

"Juvia thinks Gajeel-kun is being sweet."

Gray grinned mockingly. "You're gonna help him then."

She raised her head so harshly in response that for a moment the male mage thought that she had been offended somewhat. But there was a glint of conviction in her eyes, driving his suspicions of her anger to a stand, saying that yes, she was helping her dear friend with his love-life and no one was stopping her. And that she would succeed with it as well.

He felt a bit mesmerized by her pose, her expression and her confidence for a brief moment, breath pausing for the longest second, before her face changed to the usual cheery smile she wore, bobbling her head up and down in an enthusiastic nod.

"Juvia wants to see Gajeel-kun happy" she said heartily. After an instant of silence she added as an afterthought. "And Levy-san too."

The Ice-Make mage smiled fondly while taking another sip from his beer. That was so... Juvia. The crazy woman wouldn't think twice before giving everything she had for others, more so if it concerned romance. Not that it wasn't common to see that trait in Fairy Tail, it just came as more highlighted with Juvia. For him, at least.

Sometimes it turned out as strange to remember the gloomy girl of the past, so dull and sad, when in the present she did everything with such a passion. Always trying to achieve her best and help people around, even if she could be overzealous with any girl that spoke to him. It struck as if she was one of the liveliest person he had ever met. She probably was.

The stripper sighed comfortably, laying his beer down and casting a quick inspection to the battle going on. A couple of minutes to go.

She observed the fighting once again, completely content, head lowering to her arms which worked as pillows. Juvia seemed happy there, watching her friends destroying each other and pondering ways to bring the impossible match together. She seemed in her element of rejoice, so bright and thrilled, not shadow of her past gloominess in sight.

He wondered briefly if there was anything she wished for, to be more beaming than she already was. It had never occurred to him that that crazy remarkable woman could have dreams of her own that she wanted above everything else. Gray wondered what those would be, although the mage could guess what ambition she had.

He just_— _He just hoped for her.

He wanted to know because he wanted to make her happy too, as she was going to try and already tried with everyone she had met. All the more as she put a special effort in him above all, because of love or because it was in her nature. So he wished to give her back at least the tiniest bit of her attempts.

It was a weird emotion, to long for returning some of her unconditional attentions, just to bring her joy instead of the other way around.

He felt somewhat bound to do so. That's why Gray asked.

"What 'bout your happiness?"

And Juvia looked baffled by the sudden question. She lifted her head up, titling it to the side, as she blinked slowly. The water mage frowned, first in confusion and then in thought, rolling her tongue once in meditation. The other occupant of the table didn't even avert his eyes from her while the ordeal came to a conclusion.

"Hmm," she hummed, resting her head in the table again. "Juvia's already happy in Fairy Tail."

Her voice was soft and face seemed in peace while she said it. He believed her, he believed when she said that her home and her family was enough to bring her the greatest happiness she could ask for. Gray didn't doubt about her choice of joy when he had the same.

But then, she opened her big eyes and looked straight at him, smiling in _that way _that made his heart skip a beat. Everything went still for a maddening second before she spoke.

"Although, regarding Gray-sama, she's waiting for it."

It was short, sweet and had Juvia written all over it. He didn't know why he hadn't expected it.

The statement rang between them, loud and clear to anyone to hear, and yet, only the two of them took note. It did wild things to him, turning and twisting his very center with all the implications and hiding meanings behind it. Those words meant dreams and illusions, of possible futures that she imagined in a daily basis; it gave away her weakness. It made him go crazy.

Gray inhaled, his hands sweating and his face growing hot, processing what was said. He should be used to that sort of spontaneous confessions by then, and he somewhat was as long as her confessions were the ones made in the heat of the moment, where they seemed shallow and false. If they were anything like the one told now, though, he lost himself between her fond tone and warm eyes. Sadly, the later had commenced to be the predominant case lately.

When he was able to open his mouth to say something, _anything, _the booming voice of Gajeel cut through the air, harrying the blue haired girl to accompany him.

She hurried up as told, smiling lightly and saying her goodbyes. "Bye, Gray-sama."

Then, she was gone, unsaid words left hanging.

The Ice-Make mage took a deep breath, a futile attempt to try to calm his wrecking nerves, while his mind ragged with all the significance. He had always known what she desired, it was just never confirmed. But now that it was, he couldn't put a blind eye and left everything as it was.

Now it was a matter of time before he conceded to her.

He would give in and he wouldn't do it because he felt obliged. Gray would do it because it felt right and he wanted and...

And it meant a lot of things that had stayed in the dark, behind a curtain of uncertainty, for a long time would surface once for all.

Perhaps they meant that their strange relationship wasn't destined to stay the same, or that he wasn't the same as he was back in the games, or that she wasn't the same as she was back in the games. It could mean all that and _more_.

Perhaps...

_Perhaps_ it was high time to admit that he liked more of her than her sole company.

* * *

**5. Changing**

The idea appeared out of nowhere, he swore. No way in hell would that idea pop out by his own choice.

It was stupid, a complete nonsense and unbelievably tempting. Gray discarded the thought in the moment it showed up, thrusting it in a far corner of his mind where he wouldn't look again; but it wasn't completely placated as it would appear again in a few days. He refused it then as well. And it happened again, and again, and again, as many times as he shoved the idea it would come, and before long, he was thinking about it willingly. He was afraid of the very idea and still, he thought about it.

His mind tossed, twirled and inspected the unknown concept, surveying every aspect of it, searching for all the outcomes.

If he ever dared to act on it, the future transformations would be unpredictable. It wouldn't only affect him, the water mage that had become a prevalent side of his life would obviously be involved in it too and nothing would be the same anymore. Yet, it seemed the natural thing to do. After all they had gone thought, after all the time spent and the _somethings _that didn't let him in peace, it _was _the next step.

Furthermore, there was thrilling feeling in him each time he pictured the outcomes next to the apprehension, a feeling of excitation crushed him and no imagined reality seemed real enough compared to what could be. And he was _so _curious to know. He was intrigued and afraid at the same time, in addition to all the other unnamed feelings that Juvia surfaced in him.

He spent days pondering endlessly, switching between dread and curiosity, until he came to a conclusion.

Maybe it was worth a try.

So he manned up and asked her.

It happened in spring, when the annoying scent of flowers and life revived from the snow winter left behind flowed every place. It was a rainy day, dump and hot, sweat sticking at the bodies of people. In short, a hateful day.

They were at Frank's. He didn't require all the uproar the guild would bring, nor the extra eyes on them that tended to follow their every moment when together. Both of them were eating in comfortable silence, she wrapped up in sweet oblivion and he stirred in his seat, full aware of what was to come.

Gray clenched his hand under the table, took the last emotional push and while looking ahead him, maintaining her in his peripheral vision, he asked.

He threw the bomb with as much casualness as he could gather.

It didn't sound casual at all.

First, there was stillness.

Then a splash sounded, Juvia's food dropping to the table, as she gazed in bewilderment at him. She seemed as confused as he was while gaping like a fish out of water.

"Cou_—_ Could Gray-sama repeat it?" She asked with a voice that barely passed as a whisper. "Juvia didn't hear it well."

"You know you heard okay."

Silence filled the place. Long, suffering silence that brought every kind of doubt to both sides.

"Gary-sama" she gulped, eyes wide with disbelief, "wants to go out on a date with Juvia?"

There was a moment, a very short moment, where fear engulfed him. The Ice-Make mage thought about backtracking with his plan. Maybe he shouldn't do it, maybe he needed to forget it and let everything as it was, not change a thing. Changes could be a bad thing. They _could _meet an end that none wished. He didn't want that.

He was going to deny his words and let everything as it was. He was going to choose the sensible option.

He would have done that if it wasn't because the girl in front of him.

She was stiff with anticipation, mouth hanging open and face contorted in incredulity, eyes shining brightly with something he couldn't recognize. That sight made his breath catch and heart stop for a second. It was just a second, a tiny, worthless second; but it was enough to do wonders.

It hit him hard and suddenly, a splash of cold water in a scorching day, destroying any thought of backing down. Their situation, all the dragging that had been going for so long, would keep going in an endless loop, he knew. An endless, tiring loop that should conclude but wouldn't. Because she would stay waiting as she had been doing and he would stay wondering as he had been doing. They would keep doing it for a long, long time if he didn't step ahead now, he knew.

Their strange, stagnant relationship wouldn't change at all if he did nothing now. He knew that too.

Until... until the very moment they reached a point that all the waiting and wondering would lose all sense, come to a halt where it wouldn't matter anymore and has worn them out to the very core. They would be _so _tired of all the waiting and wondering and then, before they knew, there wouldn't be _anything_ to let as it was.

Gray just knew.

And he didn't want that. He really didn't. He wanted that much, much less than the result it could bring.

He sighed.

He could give it a try, he thought. An opportunity to herself, himself and all this relationship thing.

He could give a try to see where things would head to.

But more importantly, he _wanted _to try. He really wanted.

So Gray replied sincerely.

"Yeah."

And then, everything just changed.

...

A shriek. A jump. Two people falling. A thud.

An answer.

"Yes!"

* * *

_But to take the first step, you need the will to do so._

* * *

**N/A:** This was supposed to be around 7000 words long one-shot. Now it's a two-shot and the _first_ part has over 8000 words. Yeah, NAILED IT. Pfff. And everything seems so raaandom, I don't even know what I've done. But it's good practice to improve my english, so there you have. If anyone asks about the Lyon thing I'll (try to) explain it in the second part (?). I don't believe anyone can just say that they are over someone and be over with it for good.

The second chapter will take (a lot of) time cause I'm really slow writing, you see, and real life is just so annoying with its exams and workloads and shit.

Hope you liked the fic! If there is any mistake or a way to improve the story tell me so I can fix them!


	2. Part II

**N/A: **I flooding with happiness! Didn't think so many people would like this project of mine. And that's why I'm feeling a bit sorry for the delay, but there where exams I needed to study for, sooo… Anyway, I checked the error that were pointed out in the previous chapter (thanks, xgasai-yunox!) and fixed some more on my own.

As always, tell me any criticism you have and I hope you enjoy this chapter as much!

**Summary: **The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. With Gray it began with a glance, continued with chaos and ended... well, it didn't end.

**Warnings: **Possible OoCness, mild swearing, implicit sexual scenes and fluffiness. Lots of Gruvia fluffiness.

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail and its characters are not mine. They belong to Hiro Mashima.

* * *

**Journey**

_"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."  
_Lao- Tsé

**6. Apologizing**

Gray Fullbuster wasn't a stranger to dating. He had had a couple of girlfriends along the young road of his life who he would go out with.

These girls were chicks he met in the way and fancied for one reason or another. Whatever the case, he would ask them to a date or two and then, they would proceed to break apart because he wasn't around enough time _—_they didn't seem to fucking understand that a mage expended more time between mission than in town_—_ or because his eternal habit of undressing in public _—_too embarrassing for them, it seemed_—_ or just _because_ _—_he understood long ago that there were things not meant to be.

But Juvia was slightly different. More than slightly maybe.

She had been enough of a long period around him to know what to expect. She was a mage who had the same tight schedule as his, always wandering from place to place with work and still finding time to be with him; she knew all there was to know about his unsavory habit and didn't even flip a damn when he put his stripping on practice. Even shamelessly enjoying it.

Above all, though, she was a friend. She was a close friend, a good friend, who had known him for a long time. And he had known her for a long time.

It marked the difference between those girls he had met somewhere without a name and her.

There wouldn't be any surprises discovering a side of their personalities, bad or good, that they didn't already know about. They were aware of all the dreams they held and friends they shared and abilities they had and every other tiny detail between the two. They were familiar with each other, with their past and future and present.

They were friends and he decided to step up from the label of friendship to a... relationship.

Relationship. It sounded strange, rolling the word in his tongue.

More so if the other participant in question was Juvia.

It would bring a whole new level of uncertainty, where nothing was clear nor established and everything could end up with the worst of the cases. It could cause a thousand questions and an uneasiness very different from what they had felt in the past, the one that was poisonous and cracked any kind of connection. At the same time, it could end without a problem too.

He just hoped that, even in the case their strange relationship didn't work out, they would remain as friends. He appreciated her too much to let their friendship die.

But before that, Gray was going to look forward to what they could obtain from all this adventure they had gotten into. After all the problems and doubts he lived because of her, of the something that didn't make sense and the endless possibilities that swarmed his mind, he wasn't letting anything to prevent him from enjoying what was about to come.

He really wanted to things to work out as well, but that was another different matter entirely.

So he prepared himself and gave a begin to this new relationship that could finish in a million ways.

Or not end up _at all._

-x-

It wasn't as easy as saying it. Dating, he meant.

With Juvia it was about unnerving silences and words that didn't reach their mouths. Restless movements while sitting in the restaurant, trying to find anything to talk about without any success. They would raise their heads once every few minutes in an attempt to do _something,_ but quickly retreating to the original position, leaving everything as before. Awkwardness clung into the air as a second skin when both of them failed bringing a conversation up once again.

The Ice-Make mage watched his companion through bangs that hid his expression to the world. She had her head low, leaving her face out of his vision, blue hair falling like waterfall around her. Still, he could sense her nervousness radiating from every fiber of her being, increasing with the help of the passing time. Juvia hadn't even touched her lunch.

He frowned at the sight. Everything made him frown in this situation.

It was so wrong in so many ways.

Juvia was so outgoing even in her occasional shyness. She always seemed such a sure woman concerning on how to act around him, friendly and a tad crazy in her goofiness. And in the strange case she didn't feel as secure as usual, she still would be a cheery girl trying her best just with a touch of anxiousness. But now...

He didn't expect the she that was sitting in the other side of the table right now. So introvert, so quiet, so... everything that wasn't her habitual self.

Gray spared a murderous glance down, to the half-eaten food in front of him.

He had thought that she would keep her character in spite of their dating status. That the new found predicament wouldn't affect the whereabouts of their relation too much and she would behave as in the past. However, _if_ it actually had an influence on her, he guessed that she would only be more boisterous.

Obviously, he had been mistaken.

There she was, sitting in a stiff position and looking at anything but him, hands tucked to herself. She didn't say a word since they entered the stupid restaurant, not even a shuttering 'Gray-sama'. It made him to want to punch something. The whole situation felt so clumsy.

The ice mage took a long breath, a deeper frown appearing between eyebrows, as he checked the clock in the wall of the establishment. An hour already passed and none had touched the food for a while. It had been longer since they spoke. Nothing seemed ready to change.

Shifting slightly, he decided that enough was enough and that they would go nowhere staying there.

"Want to_—_?" he cleared his throat, not sure what to say next. "Want to take a walk?"

The water woman _finally _glanced at him, a bright blush appearing in her cheeks. She opened her mouth, face still red, before closing it once again and biting her lower-lip. Her eyes, too, fall to the floor. The Ice-Make mage saw the scenery in front of him unfold with utter confusion _—_what was stopping her from speaking? But she didn't try to talk again, refraining herself with a little nod.

Gray sighed in annoyance, throwing the pay for the lunch on the table. He didn't understand why she was acting so weird, why all this didn't seem to work. He watched her flinch, because of his obvious distraught or something else he didn't know, before standing up with him. They exited the little restaurant in complete quietness.

The short stroll was pretty much the same.

Within a few minutes, both arrived to the nearby park. The day was uncannily hot to be middle spring and the kids enjoyed it to the fullest, running around like wild animals. The mages walked around, not caring about the direction, as children crossed their path, playing whatever game they had come up with or going to the ice-cream boot with hunger.

Despite the amicable surroundings, both Fairy Tail's member didn't utter a word and the silence was starting to wreck his nerves. Juvia wasn't even next to him while they walked across the park, deciding to follow him from a step behind.

Worse yet, time was ticking off.

The ice mage glanced back. She was as she had acted trough the morning, head low and playing with her hands, not looking like she was going to do anything at all. He looked ahead once again, frustration taking over. It was such pointless excursion, without any interaction when it should have been all about it. And everything seemed a waste of time. A big one at that.

Slowly, inevitably, the reality that had been all day along before his eyes hit him like thousand bricks.

Maybe they... couldn't work together.

Maybe all this was a mistake.

Maybe everything had ended even before it could start.

And when all hope that had existed in the endless possibilities were about to come to a close, a ball smashed his face.

Hard.

If he had been paying attention to his surrounding, he would have noticed the object coming and be able to avoid it. However, he was not; so he ended with a ball in his hands, a red face from the blow and a kid trembling in fear from a safe distance. His eyes squinted while he squeezed the damn thing, trying to torn it apart, and a visible scowl already appearing. The kid chocked a cry, still not daring to come close, seeing his toy about to meet a very premature end.

Meanwhile, a giggle reached his ears. He knew that sound and he knew from whom it came. Rolling around, the Ice-Make mage saw his companion with sparkles of fun in her eyes. He glowered at her. Dismissing his little act of self-preservation, Juvia caught the ball in his hand, _still _laughing, and headed towards the boy with the intention to give it back.

When she came back her amusement was yet to subside.

Perceiving his anger, she tried to hide her laughter putting a dainty hand over her mouth. It didn't work. He huffed in irritation.

"What are you laughin' at?" Although his tone was harsh and cutting, she seemed unfazed.

The water mage giggled more before pulling a handkerchief out of nowhere. She approached him hesitatingly, backing away for a second as she gathered the remains of her courage, and raised the piece of clothe to his face. He stepped back.

"Gray-sama has dirt on his nose" she said with a shrug, her lips tugging into a shy smile.

He watched her warily, pondering for a brief moment if it was safe, and decided that it was. He let her to come closer and clean whatever dirt he had. There was a flash of the Juvia he knew when she peeped as she got nearer, but it was gone in the instant she moved away, the little task finished, and he wondered if his imagination had pull a trick on him.

Then, there was silence, welcoming them like an old friend.

She withdrew to her previous position that never ceased him to cringe. Things were starting to look up and suddenly, they were back to square one. He tousled his hair distracted, more annoyed than nothing, thinking that maybe they should just go home. His train of thought was interrupted, though, as the water mage began to speak.

"Juvia's sorry."

Gray blinked rapidly, dumfounded by her sudden apology. Looking down to her he found out that she was playing with her hands too frantically and that her big eyes were a bit teary. Alarmed, he was going to ask her why she was sorry when she beat him to it.

"Juvia's so nervous. She has dreamed this scenario a lot, but it to actually happen is..." she said moving her hands in a way that tried to convey her emotions. Her voice turned into a whisper barely audible. "Juvia didn't want to mess this up."

It struck him then that, maybe, she could be afraid too. Although her fear came from the chance that her opportunity, her first and only opportunity, would finish in complete failure and that there would any other occasion after that. That all her dreams were going to end because some silly mistake. Contemplating what to do next, Gray sought her attention, desperately finding the right answer to her confession. He was going to comfort saying that she didn't need to be afraid of her doubts, that she should act as always. He would be alright with it.

But in the last moment, when he saw her apprehensive face and his heart clenched, he resolved to say something that was more truthful than anything else he could say.

"Well then, I'm sorry too."

He wasn't completely sure why he had apologized. He might have apologized because it was _he _who always said that she should knock her enthusiasm down a notch, or because he had expected to be her the one who should carry all the weight of the conversation, or because he could have done something to erase the tension between the two and didn't. Or it could be a mix of everything or another reason entirely.

Nevertheless, the message reached, it seemed, because she gave him her typical dreamy smile, tearful eyes gone, and in a moment of dare, and not harassed by self-doubt anymore, she took possession of his hand firmly. The ice mage rolled his eyes at that, not expecting anything less from his partner. She wasn't freeing her grip on him soon, he knew.

His lips twisted upwards. And everything was back to normal.

"Wanna an ice-cream?" He suddenly asked, signaling the direction where the post was.

Juvia squealed imperceptibly, her big smile showing more, and literally dragged him there.

The rest of the afternoon was much, much comfortable. There were moments that her released enthusiasm got the better of her, but Gray enjoyed it more than expected.

So the next day he asked her for another date again.

And she said yes again.

* * *

**7. Waiting**

There was a second date after the first one. Then, a third took place and when three days passed, a fourth one happened.

It frightened him how smoothly everything went. Not easy, mind you; it was never easy with Juvia. He learned that lesson long ago. But the relationship _—_the word still felt foreign_—_ just _flowed._ And it was frightening to see how everything was coming to be with not much of an obstacle on the road.

There were the occasional slips, of course, where she would go crazy over her excitement and he would freak out over her burst of enthusiasm. Overall, though, those problems were resolved without much ado, spending a bit of time calming down. And thus, the new side of his interactions with Juvia had become a daily part of his life in such a gradual way that he didn't even notice when he started to _look forward _to these moments.

It was a tricky thing to find enough time for their dates, with missions and personal matters always bothering, but they managed somehow. Both mages would enjoy themselves going to some restaurant or walking around the town or just spending time together in the isolate corner of the guild.

The later, however, was yet to be any good. It would be way better without the comments that the guild mates made about his love-life, throwing catcalls and whistles when passing by their table. Cana's mocking was reaching the limit of his patience and Natsu was worse if possible; the little shit was going to get his ass frozen sooner or later.

He wasn't fond of other people meddling with his private life.

Nevertheless, Gray was coming to like the source of all the mockery. He always thought that Juvia would be the type of girl that took every opportunity to touch him, and he had been right. She would try to hold hands or hug or any kind of physical contact whenever she could, regardless of the surroundings or the witnesses. It was mildly embarrassing in public places but the ice mage could live with it. He was used to the stares of unknowns thanks to his stripping.

Besides, sometimes, when he was sure that no one was paying attention to them, he would reciprocate her affections with slight squeezes or returning her hugs. She would grip him tighter in those occasions.

There weren't any kisses, though. Which was kinda strange, he thought. Juvia was Juvia and he had supposed she would be all over him, being the overly romantic girl she was.

Until it came to him, one day, while sitting with his team.

She was expecting. Waiting for him.

For _what _was the question now.

So he waited too, and he pondered and he was liking being with more each passing day. It was still frightening, to see the pieces falling in their place, but it didn't matter anymore. He was just enjoying it too much to dread anymore.

The answer came when spring's and summer's days started to blend.

They were back from a movie, a really cheesy movie that made Gray to want to throw up and Juvia to start crying all over the place. The sun was low in the sky and it was time for each one to go home. He patiently expected the ritual before they went in their separated ways.

As presumed, the water mage launched at him in a rib-broking hug, snuggling in his chest. Gary patted her head awkwardly, still not completely comfortable with the proximity even if he liked it, and thanking whatever deity there was because of the empty street.

Then, she said it, muffled by his clothes that miraculously had stayed on.

"Juvia loves Gray."

It was a habit of hers to say _the _words in the least expected occasions just for the fuck of saying them. No honorifics, no fangirling, just a reminder. And he would flush red each time, throat dry and hands sweaty, doubting what to do next. That time he more than blushed.

She was looking up on him, red cheeks, eyes wide and a shy smile playing in her lips.

She was still expecting, even then, clutching at his jacket. And in a moment of clarity, Gray understood.

She was waiting for him to be in the same wavelength as hers. It was his turn to do all the first moves. She wanted him to fall for her and if she needed to slow down her wishes for that, she would. Just for the shake to _know_ that her feeling were returned.

It made his heart go erratic.

However, he certainly didn't love her in that way. He was sure of it. He _did _love her as a friend and he had to _like_ her as more than a friend if he was even dating her. Nonetheless, to love her the way she did... not even near it.

He couldn't tell her that.

But, dammit all, he was already on the way of falling if he was interpreting his feeling well enough. He just needed time to arrive there. She just needed to wait a bit more.

So he fidgeted for a second, looking around to make sure that they were alone, before taking the final decision.

Gray leaned towards her.

And in a couple second he was back like nothing happened. Or something similar, because he could feel his face burn and her taste linger.

His female companion gaped, eyes glazed over.

It hadn't been something out of a book.

There hadn't been any fireworks on the background or sudden inspiration flooding or anything that could be described as miraculous. It hadn't been like those fairy tales of childhood where with a kiss you knew all your future with that person and you had the confidence to know that that relationship was the right one, the definitive one.

But she looked marveled and amazed and every kind of wonder was plastered in her factions, so it actually could be something out of a book.

Juvia blushed ten shades of red and beamed at him fucking beautifully.

His heart beat twice as fast.

He smiled the tiniest of the smiles for her before diving in once more.

* * *

**8. Clearing**

Gray arrived at Lamia Scale's guild on a clear day of summer.

Even if the members of the guild didn't seem any different from the past, there was a slight tension hanging in the air and mores injured people than usual. Nothing that actually mattered, though, as the atmosphere was normal when they had come out of a little war with a nearby dark guild just recently. And obviously, they won, seeing all the barrels of alcohol scattered on the floor.

Anyway, he wasn't there to celebrate with them or anything related to that. His reasons were more personal than that.

The thing with wars was that, even if in purpose or not, a third party was always involved, usually negatively. It could go from civilians getting hurt as side effect of the mage's attacks to houses being destroyed spectacularly, leaving families without a home to return to _—_Fairy Tail was professional with the last_—_ or, like in his case, a girlfriend deciding to jump in the battle zone to aid an ally guild.

He really didn't know much about what happened. He had come back from a week long mission with his team when Mira told him that she had received a message from Lamia Scale saying that Juvia had been wounded. Nothing important, she assured him, subsiding the rising alarms in his head, but he should fetch her so Wendy or Polyusca could keep an eye on her. Just in case.

And that the water mage would be very, _very_ glad if her prince in an ice-armor went to find her, the demon-girl added with a devious knowing smirk. He huffed at that while the listening people laughed.

One of those days they would stop making fun of him and Juvia. He hoped at least.

So Gray hit the road heading to their ally's quarters. It wasn't a long travel, much less a hard one, but his mood was running low, exhausted from the mission and the nonstop brawls with Natsu, and he just wished to take Juvia back home as quickly as possible.

After he had reprimanded her from her silliness, that is. The crazy woman should stop thinking so much about others and start looking after herself. He seemed as right to help friends, but man, not in the cost of you own life. He just wanted to be guaranteed that Juvia wouldn't go too far in her quest to live for others. That way he could sleep calmly.

He entered the guild with all the quietness of a drunk elephant, tripping over a fallen chair. A dozen pair of eyes glanced in his direction, everyone with different levels of amusement in their faces, and he shot a glare back while getting up. Maintaining the little composure he had left, the ice mage asked where he could find his guild mate.

"Up," a man behind the bar said before signaling the stairs.

The Ice-Make mage went upstairs after thanking the bartender, checking the free rooms in the way searching for the girl, until he came across a bundle of blue resting on one of the rooms. Juvia seemed to be asleep. Opening the door completely and silently, he gave a step ahead.

Suddenly, he stopped still. Lyon was there.

The white haired man was sitting in a chair next to the bed, watching over her silent form with a book in hand. His expression indescribable and silence filling the place. The younger one stared intently for a second or two when he decided it was time to make his presence known to the man in the room.

Gray grunted audibly.

Snapping to face the new occupant, Lyon raised an eyebrow.

Giving him a look, the ice mage said: "Hey."

At which the other answered: "Hey."

What preceded next was pretty much the common routine.

Grudgingly, the Fairy Tale mage took a chair in the far corner of the room and dragged it to the other side of Juvia's bed. Once sitting, he stretched himself in a comfortable position to wait her awakening. The girl didn't even flinch in her dreams with the sounds all around her. The other male there just watched with a practiced indifference.

Lyon smirked mockingly when he saw his fellow pupil shoving his hands in the pockets of his pants. Gray frowned at him.

"I see that your undressing habits are still working," he commented offhandedly.

The raven haired man blinked once before lowering his sight to his now bared chest. There should have been a shirt and jacket, not skin, shouldn't it? After a moment of reflection he decided that, yeah, it should. It took him another five seconds for his mind to process what was going on.

"What the_—_!"

He searched frenetically for his lost clothes (When did he...? How?!) that in the end appeared dropped away in the hall's floor. When he came back next to his girlfriend's side, now fully clothed, Lyon was reading his book with the fuckiest smile in his lips.

Sometimes he downright _hated_ that bastard.

But picking up a fight now was out of the question, as the water woman seemed to need the rest. And he wasn't in the mood for it, either.

So he resolved to send a narrowed glare to his companion of childhood and settle down in his seat until Juvia was ready to leave the place. He didn't move even when he could feel the white haired man's sight on him.

The silence wasn't long lived.

"And here I thought," Lyon started, "Juvia would sort out that exhibitionism of yours, after you finally hooked up and all that." The drawling, bored tone he was using made Gray seethe. "Such a pity."

That time he growled. A sneer in his face, he scooted up closer to her bed. He felt his muscle tense as consequence, for he did not know what the other would do or say then.

However, the next time the Lamia Scale's member spoke was without the intentional sarcasm. In fact, his voice carried a strange mix of sadness and happiness, and a hint of a feeling he couldn't quite place but knew from somewhere.

And longing. It had longing hidden in some place too.

"You are one lucky bastard."

Gray watched him cautiously. It had been known Lyon's more than attachment towards Juvia for all the obviousness and blatant proclaims. A fact that had annoyed the black haired man to no end until Lyon decided to leave her alone back in the games. But Gray knew better.

Someone couldn't give up on their emotions so easily.

Tentatively, he asked.

"Are you still...?" The younger mage left the question hanging, meaning clear to anyone.

He was on edge, searching for any signs or trace in the other's expression that would betray whatever thing his fellow old mate was thinking. Gray just didn't feel like to be all jittery each time he would be with Lyon because some unrequited love.

Much less if the girl he wanted was Juvia.

After a while, Lyon snorted. Closing his book, he gave the Fairy Tail member a pointed look.

"Don't worry about that, idiot," he said truthfully, and just like that, all the worries flew away.

Gray grunted appreciatively, relief washing over him. In any other occasion he would have retorted back with a scornful response to Lyon's insult, but it didn't feel like the correct moment to start a brawl over that. And he didn't want to deeper on the matter more than they already had.

Too awkward for his liking.

Instead, he changed topics to a more comfortable ground, where he could feel safe from the delicate issues that he didn't want to speak about, and because, well, he _still _didn't know how Juvia had come to the state she was in, resting in a bed.

"So, what happened?" he asked pointing to the girl next to him.

The white haired man sighed, waving his hand dismissively. "Not that I know all the details," he said as matter of fact, "but it seems that Juvia was on a mission around here and when she saw the commotion in the town, she decided to help."

Gray exhaled at that, knowing well that the version wouldn't change much even if Juvia was the one telling it. Nevertheless, at least, they had settled down the trouble between the two out of the ordeal, one that had been delayed to be solved for a while.

It was good to be back to normal.

"And then, I came and saved her as the charming prince I am."

...or not.

"Stay away from her," Gray snarled furiously.

Leaning back in the chair, the older man continued with his venting. "Protective now, aren't you."

"Fuck off."

Lyon smiled happily, a playful smirk visible, like a child that had found his new favorite pastime. He probably did.

"Oh. Little Gray is jealous. Such an amazing view."

"Do y'know where you can stick your damn comments?"

Their steadfast bickering met an abrupt end when the shift of the sheets alerted them. Both men darted their gaze upon the figure in the bed, which started moving slowly, and saw how the sleepy girl come back to the land of the living.

Juvia gazed tiredly over the room until her eyes landed in the raven haired male. "Gray-sama?"

She smiled exhausted, eyelashes low and the tiniest of rose in her pale cheeks. She seemed to be okay, just tired, Gray noted. Sighing in relief, he flared a narrowed glare to Lyon before concentrating on her, getting closer to her side.

"Hey," he greeted the newly waken up girl with a little smile of his own. "How are you?"

Something in his words had to sound very funny to Lyon because he chuckled behind him.

* * *

**9. Loving**

It came naturally.

It was autumn again, with its multicolored leafs and fresh air that already predicted winter's coming, when it happened.

The weather was chilly while Fairy Tail held a party for reasons he didn't know nor care about, bustling with the energy that the guild was so well known for, as its members drank until their blood had converted into beer. They partied through the night and finished when their bones were crushed and the alcohol gone, everything destroyed to pieces and everyone worn out in the floor. Blissful snoring filled the place.

Unfortunately, life continued its course and there were missions to be accomplished the next day for a water mage.

He watched her besides him as she stood up, wary legs barely maintaining her weight, and guided herself though the darkness of the guild. She might have stepped on some people, the only indicators of that being the occasional grunt that echoed in the room.

On a whim, tired and more intoxicated than he was aware of, Gray decided to accompany her to Fairy Hills.

Juvia giggled in her drunken state when he held her from her waist, helping her and himself to regain their lacking balance.

He wasn't much of a gallant. He was anything but a well-mannered man. However, since some random phase of their relationship, he decided he could do his best for her. It was fair to do so; she did her best for him. That's why he escorted her home most of the time.

And because the make out sessions before they parted away were well worth it.

They walked the empty streets of Magnolia, laughs the only sound of the night each time one of them almost fell to the floor but didn't. They wobbled, incapable to go in a straight line, as they tried to avoid tripping with the objects in their road to reach their destination.

They solved to go to his apartment instead of to the girl's dormitories. It was closer to the guild and they didn't believe in their capacity to arrive Fairy Hills without ending up shoving their faces in the concrete. So they headed there.

Half an hour later, the Ice-Make mage's home was opened to the world and the two mages entered stumbling.

He clumsily switched the lights on, illuminating the once shadowy apartment with yellowish light. There was a pregnant silence while they orientated themselves inside the little house. It was the first time she was in his apartment.

He showed her his dormitory, with a very awkward tour through the house, saying that she could sleep there. He would take the couch.

They stayed where they stood at the door of the bedroom, for a whole minute, not knowing what to do. Juvia shifted for one foot to another as the seconds transformed into minutes, and it was then when he decided it was time to call the day.

"Goodnight then." His voice sounded loud and heavy in the silence.

"Goodnight." Hers, on the other hand, was soft and gentle.

She drew near him, standing in her tiptoes, and kissed him. The usual blissful nightly kiss.

But the treat that night was bigger than the others. She didn't get away after a few seconds as always; instead, she lingered. He didn't complain.

When they separated her lips where puffy and eyes glazed over, completely unfocused. Cheeks glowed brighter as she started to caress his hair with her tender hands. A shiver shot down his spine.

She giggled without a reason and he chuckled in response.

Maybe they were still with too much liquor in their veins, he mused distracted.

Once the unintentional laughter subsided, she supported her head in his chest. He held her from the waist as he had been doing a while ago, when they were making their way to home.

She said she loved him in a whisper and his heart leaped in reply.

"I know," Gray answered.

Then, he leaned over again, sealing her mouth with his.

And the rest was just natural. Or it felt like that.

Before both of them could register what was going on, there were heated kisses and roaming hands. He left her lips to center in her neck and shoulder while she unbuttoned his shirt. This time it wasn't him the one taking the clothes away.

He noticed that she smelled like rain on spring days and sunflowers.

They had a trail of clothes behind and a single bed ahead, the easiest situation he had ever faced. The two mages managed to cross the room until they reached the bed, not falling down even once. When next to the mattress, they dropped onto it between a loud thump and chocked laughter.

She said that she loved him again with a tiny, tiny voice and eyes shining like stars and he could feel his chest tighten with feelings he couldn't quite understand. The uncertainty of them didn't bother him this time, though, because there was something beautiful in front of him and everything be damned if he ever let her go.

He absently wondered when did she make him such a pansy or if the alcohol had gone too far into his brain. Not like he minded particularly at the moment; the matter at hand took all his thoughts away.

There were sighs and groans and the cranky sound of the bed shaking.

He discovered every curve of her body, where it tensed with excitement and where it relaxed with moans. She wandered through his face, neck and everywhere she could reach to find the points where she could draw a sigh from him. They worked on finding out every secret of each other and basking in their moment.

She whimpered again and again that she loved him, arching her back against him.

He drank from her like his life depended on it, like water for the thirsty, saying that he knew. He knew she loved him unconditionally, he knew she would have waited an eternity for him, he knew that, now, she was happier than she had ever been.

He was _so_ glad for all of it.

It was about sweaty bodies, musky air and raw passion. Hearts beating at the same rate and ragged breaths mixing when their lips clashed.

It was about tangled limbs, interlaced hands and how everything felt like they would burst at any moment. How everything seemed close to an end and a start.

So close; so very _close_ to ecstasy.

Then..._ paradise._

-x-

They laid in bed comfortably, between warm blankets and welcoming darkness. She hummed an unknown song to his ears while playing with her hands in his bare chest, randomly drawing shapeless figures with her fingers. He sighed in contentment, pulling her body closer to his. And when she locked eyes with him, she smiled in the happiest way he had ever seen her do so. He smiled back.

Outside, the first snowflakes of winter started to fall.

There, watching her through half lidded eyes, he thought that maybe the day he woke up and knew he loved her as much as she did wasn't as far as he originally believed.

And that maybe he already did love her after all.

* * *

**10. Saying**

He didn't tell her in a sweet way, as she would have wished.

Actually, it wasn't even intended. He just threw the words one day, not even thinking about them. It barely could be labeled as a confession of any shorts.

It was winter when the event took place. The weather was colder than usual, sky covered by thick clouds that didn't let the sunlight pass and a sense of weightiness in the air.

The two of them were eating at Frank's, a routine they had taken a liking to. So far, it was a peaceful afternoon as many others had been before and as many others would be after. Juvia described her latest mission with Gajeel, Gray would listen and both enjoyed the moment.

The problem would start later, when they left the place to go to the guild so they could meet up with their friends. They passed by a shop, one of those that screamed romanticism from every corner of it with their expensive dresses and decorations, and that surfaced Juvia's most sentimental side. Gray braced himself to the inevitable consequence.

As presumed, his girlfriend slowed down her walk when she spotted the sickeningly white and pink shop, snapping her head between him and the store. She blushed a healthy pink and her enthusiasm showed off with the slight hopping in her feet.

Then again, she always was enthusiastic. But when she was about to enter her own world of dreams, the one she alone could reach, her face would lit up in a certain way and a dreamy smile would appear on it. As it was happening at the moment.

Gray sighed tiredly, rolling his eyes at the expected reaction from Juvia, and let her be with her craziness.

He thought that, _fuck_, he loved that woman; but sometimes she was just plain overwhelming.

Something strange happened after.

Instead of the typical non-stop rambling that wouldn't cease until he called her back to Earthland, she did something different.

She came to an abrupt halt, her incessant chatting stopping all of sudden, and looking at him with disbelief. He glared back, stopping in his tracks too. Gray crooked an eyebrow with an unsaid question in his face while she opened her mouth to close it in an instant.

And it seemed he had spoken his mind out aloud.

She was unmoving, large amazed eyes trained on him, and it was starting to unsettle him. Doubting his next move on the odd scenario, he straightened his posture, gaze locked with hers.

"What?" He said with an edge of uncertainty.

Juvia didn't answer straight away, stuck in whatever thoughts she was swimming in. He scowled at her unusual behavior. Gray sniffed uncomfortably, not understanding why she had gone so quiet out of the blue.

Seconds passed and she continued with her unnatural quietness which didn't fit her at all. He balanced from one foot to another, glaring at her and then to his surroundings. The ice mage cleared his throat loudly, nervousness starting to form.

He looked back at her.

It took him out of guard when he spotted water glimmering in her eyes. The Fairy Tale mage stepped back in astonishment, all at once too aware of the girl's condition. He hesitated more when Juvia sucked up a wagged breath, lashes flickering rapidly and eyes filling up with unshed tears. Her whole body began to tremble with restrained feelings. She looked like she was about to start crying in any moment.

The ice mage hold his breath.

He didn't want that. Her crying. Not _at all_.

Bewildered, he got closer to her, hands wrapping around her arms in an attempt to stop the shaking, trying to find the source of her agitated state.

"Dammit, Juvia, what happens?" Gray asked again, worry creeping in.

Then, she smiled, big and wide, teeth showing. She beamed, happiness radiating even with her tears almost falling.

He blinked once, twice and his mind went wild, not understanding anything.

She was crying and she was smiling and he was stuck in the middle of the frenzy that didn't make any kind of sense, just thinking about how beautiful she looked right there. The mage opened his mouth multiple times, trying to ask again if anything was wrong, when she beat him to act.

Next, it was a chain of events that surprised him as he wasn't prepared for it.

He didn't see her hug coming, one that made them fall in the floor. They had a thing for floors, Gray decided; they always ended up there. He did not see the kissing coming, either. He wasn't complaining there; it was good, so he circled his hands around her waist.

And he certainly didn't foresee the words that followed the spontaneous assault.

"Juvia loves you _too_, Gray," she said smiling like never before.

He blushed madly.

She kissed him harder as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

Gray didn't deny anything when she moved away.

* * *

_The wondrous thing, though, was that they could still find a long road ahead them to walk._

* * *

**N/A: **Whoop! The end. I'm not as happy with the second part, mostly with the final. I feel like I disconnected for too long with the exams and when I returned I'd lost the essence of the fic. I think it's a bit worse than the first one. But I guess it's better than nothing. By the way, if anyone is asking, I'm just gonna say that the shop in the end is for fiancees and their white dresses, lol. I hope you really enjoyed reading, because I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks for reviewing to **opft12, SeptemberGurl, xgasai-yunox, Darkhope, mgaa, Imafangirlsowhat, olej2k10, kurohyacchan, Esthellar, Rin-Chan is the Name, superduperizee, Guest 1, IndigoHailstorm, Guest 2, Bella** and everyone who favorited or followed my story.

They made my day happier :) !


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